The current antics over at NBC make the days of Fred Silverman’s Supertrain and Pink Lady and Jeff look like brilliant programming decisions.
Just as programs on the Big Four and a Half networks are taking a break for the holiday, the same thing is happening on cable. Unfortunately, some of these shows have been on break since the late summer-early fall. While we’ve been missing them to death, the good news is that many, including Leverage, Psych, White Collar, Damages, and Burn Notice, are about to return to complete their seasons.
Believe it or not, we have reached the mid-point in the 2009-10 television season. Unlike the past few years, this season may turn out to be one of the most successful. Thanks in part to some new and old comedies. After years of shunning comedy scripts for proceurals and serialized dramas, the networks have filled their schedules with some laughs rather than sobs.
Take, for instance, the PSAs for the CBS Cares project. The title of these short videos — Prostate PSA Holidays. No, I’m serious! It says so at the CBS Cares video site! In this series of 10-second shorts, stars of various CBS shows ask you to celebrate the holidays by signing your man up for a prostate exam. . There’s one for generic holidays, one for Christmas, and one for Hanukkah. Strangely, there’s no PSA for Kwanza or Festivus. Though, the scene of a bare metal pole would probably send shivers up a strong man’s spine.
If you were watching the series finale of Monk on Friday night (and, apparently, millions of you did) you probably caught a new ad for USA’s Psych that brought a smile to your face. That is, if you didn’t immediately channel surf at the break.
In the period known as “Back in the Day”, the period between December and the first few weeks of January were full of reruns. These days, everyone, including the original Big Three, launch a whole new set of shows that totally mess up your viewing schedule.
Ken hosted Remote Control from his “basement”, offering contestants a buffet of pop culture questions; everything from classic and current television, to music videos, to fad toys and clothing. It wasn’t done in the wryly dry style of many of the game show hosts of the day. Instead, it was done with humor and plenty of good-natured fun.
